Surgeons Can Now Prep For Surgery In VR

Doctors might ditch textbooks for technology thanks to SpectoVive, a whole new way to examine the human body.

Virtual reality has plenty of practical use cases outside of entertainment, but we may have just found a frontrunner: SpectoVive. Thanks to the amazing minds at the University of Basel, surgeons can use VR to interact with a 3D model of the human body prior to performing surgery. Using the HTC Vive and its accurate controllers, users can grab, move, rotate and even scale each and every anatomical structure—resulting in a level of detail and observation previously unimaginable in modern technology.

What makes this program so incredible, though, isn’t how you view the 3D models, but how you interact with them. Using a scissor tool, you can actually cut through the virtual bodies at will, allowing you to examine each part of the body layer by layer. Surgeons will even have the ability to take instant X-rays and CT scans. The developers used tomography data to generate images in real time, which lets you view and interact with models without delays.

Obviously the applications for this program are nearly limitless. Whether it be an experienced surgeon preparing for a complicated surgery or a first-year MD candidate looking to get some experience under her belt, this technology is going to fundamentally change how medicine and surgery are taught, learned, and conducted.